Wednesday, March 14, 2012

0 to 60...

We have been married for almost 14 years. For over 13 of those years we fought the silent battle of "who's getting up with the kids?!?" The one where we both lie there in bed, pretending to be asleep, waiting for the other person to respond to the crying (screaming?!) child. The one where Christi scolds me in the morning for being lazy and I insist I was asleep the whole time and she says, "I heard your breathing change!" That game.

Then, about 2 months ago, we got a clue. We switch nights! Every other night one of us is responsible to get up with the kids. That poor sap has to sleep on the side of the bed closest to the door. The other lucky person sleeps soundly on the other side where she kicks the guy whose turn it is to wake up. We've even got it down to where we switch off weekend mornings to sleep in. Now that our church has moved to a 1pm start time, we get two glorious weekend mornings. How sweet it is.

The whole point of this is to share with you Sophi's method of waking up. This applies in the middle of the night as well as in the morning. Most kids fuss a little, toss and turn as they start to make some noise. Sophi goes from 0 to 60 in 0 seconds. One moment, the house is bathed in glorious, sleeping silence. The next moment a 120 decibel siren goes off down the hall. There is no pretending to be asleep through Sophi waking up. And yet somehow, Christi still finds reason to kick me...;)

2 comments:

My brother - I'm pretty dang deaf - wear a hearing aid in both ears and still manage to miss stuff...and mostly I hate it...mostly....except at night when I take them off to go to bed! ;) (and yeah - I got the bruises to prove it - well - at least as bad as yours are!!)

Meet Conner and Cali

When we fell in love 15 years ago, we started down a path that has been challenging, exhausting, and breathtakingly beautiful. Here we chronicle the blessings and stressings of parenting some pretty amazing children. We think they're the perfect travel companions as we look forward to the next fork in the road. Welcome to our journey.

Jeremy and Christianne

Taylor Jeremy--16

Parker Matthew--14

The red-headed social butterfly, he's our all-star athlete, top student, outdoor-loving, spunky second-born, with a heart of pure gold!

Jessica Anne "Jesi"--12

Our little princess with the big smile, Jesi loves dress-ups and tea parties, reading, playing with her siblings, and snuggling. She sparkles!

Jacob Michael-- 6/8/2004

Little one of heavenly birth, born too soon to bloom on earth. You have taught us so much--we love you, Jacob!

Emily Anne "Emmy"--9/28/2005

Emily's exquisite little hands and feet have left their mark in this world. Her body was tiny, but her spirit enormous. We miss her!

Elizabeth Mei "Elli"--10

Elli's world may be dark, but she's the light of our lives! Lover of music, chocolate, and Mommy's arms, she brings joy to all who know her!!

Gracelin Kate "Graci"--17

Showing true grace throughout her battles with heart disease and pulmonary hypertension, our Gracester is loved by everyone! She's smart, gorgeous, friendly, and has faith to move mountains!

Alexander Philip "Xander"--10

With a spunk and smile that could outmatch anyone's, our Xander has not let Cloves Syndrome get the best of him. Adopted at age 4 from China, he loves having a family, eating junk-food, and playing with his many friends!

Alexis Li "Lexi"--10

Meet the friendliest girl on the planet! Blind from birth, Lexi amazes all of us with her braille skills, determination, talents, but mosly by the way she spends her days SMILING. She is an angel in every way. We are thrilled to have our darling daughter home three years from China!!

Sophia Breanne "Sophi"--6

Her eyes called out to us from half-way around the world. Little Sophi is beautiful, smart, and coy. She can do amazing things with her little toes and we think she's about the cutest thing on the planet! Welcome home, baby girl!

Calais Rose "Cali"--14

Charming Cali joined our family in December of 2012. This girl is beautiful both inside and out. Born with spina bifida, Cali is confined to a wheelchair, but that does not keep her from enjoying life to the fullest. She is smart, opinionated, strong, and lovely in every way.

Conner Allen-- 15

Meet our newest addition! Wu Jia Xia is from Wuhan City in China. Blind from birth, he will blow you away with his incredible talent on the piano. More importantly, we are told he is sweet, compassionate, hard working and ready for a FAMILY of his own. We can't wait to get our arms around you, Conner!